Missing Love
by Exavier2
Summary: A short story about Cortana during Halo 2 when she is left behind at High Charity. Mostly about her thoughts about Master Chief and how she might actually feel for him. Very light romantic thoughts mostly. Read and review please.


**Writers Comments:** Okay this might come off as odd to some. I don't know I've just alway's had an interest in possible but odd romantic interests. Such as Andromeda and Captain Dylan from the show Anromda (If you watch that) or this case Master Cheif and Cortana from Halo. I just find something about it interesting. I've had thoughts like this swimming around in my head for a while now. Especially after I read the books and such. Finally when I was flipping through Halo romance fan fictions I was just kind of hit with insperation to write this short fic up.

I hope that it's enjoyable. It's rather simple. More or less the fic is about Cortana right after Master Chief left on the ship that Truth escaped on back to Eatrh. Now she's stuck on High Charity alone and with her thoughts for the moment. Also this story could have very possible slight spoilers for the games/books so just a fair warning there. I wrote this up at 5:00 AM in the morning so if anything seems off I apologize but I think I got every. Either way I hope that you enjoy, now onto the story.

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**Missing Love**

"When I get through with Truth..."

"Don't make a girl a promise... if you know that you can't keep it..."

Silence, that was all she could hear. The advanced Forerunner ship would quickly lift up into the air then fly off into space, most likely finding its way up into slipspace so it could make a jump to Earth. He was gone. It was odd, she almost felt like she regretted it, like she didn't want him to go. Perhaps it was just that she didn't wish to be left here. She wasn't really afraid or anything. As an AI construct she had very little fear of death not to mention she doubted the Flood were that big a danger to her. Aside from destroying the computers of course. Yet she did feel like something had become missing, some part of her now that she was without. She had to admit that it was strange being without John otherwise known as the Master Chief. It seemed like the two had been together forever though that was probably because they had been through so much together. She remembered the first time when she had to choose a Spartan to be carried by. Master Chief had indeed been her first choice.

Doctor Halsey was unsure about it at first but any tests scans did show that Cortana was more compatible with his brain then any other Spartan. Truthfully there had always been more to it then that though and perhaps on some level Cortana had been aware of that. The mind used to design her was that of Halsey after all. Hasley never admitted it openly but the Chief had always been her favorite of the Spartans, andsome extent that had been passed on into Cortna though it wasn't just that. At first she had thought him as asimple enough human. Genetically enhanced to be a near perfect super soldier. He could think faster then any human alive and fight with unmatched speed and skill. Her being in his suit had only added to his deadly efficiency and she did feel safe traveling with him. In time though she had seen there was more to him then all of that. The Chief had always been a simple kind of guy. He was stuck being dedicated to his work no his life would be more correct that life being to fight the Covenant and now the Flood to save the human race. He always fought so hard. Hour after hour of near endless fighting, literally.

One seemingly impossible hurtle after another was what made up his life. Even in the most dire situations where he was alone and outnumbered he simply pressed on. Always watching out for the soldiers he fought alongside never complaining despite the fatigue and injury's he took something that not even a super soldier had to wear through. Despite any mistakes he had made such as back on Halo he had more then enough reason to earn her respect. More to the point she almost hated how smart he was, almost being the key word there. Cortana would never admit it but she could equal the Chief to almost being a genius. Military wise and perhaps even more. On Halo he was the one that came up with the daring plan to blow up the generator when Guilty Spark had stopped their plans and they were short on options. In space when they had to board a Covenant ship shortly after the destruction of Halo he had told her to concentrate on opening the door and let the pilot get them in which had kept them alive. More then once he had thought of things that not even she could think of despite being the most advanced human AI they had right now.

It made her almost jealous that he was that smart. That at times he had a solution when she had none. That and at times she wished she was more useful. She knew that he considered her to be something he could not do without and that was true. The Chief felt that all equipment could be replaced, except for Cortana, and yet, she felt slightly lacking at times. When the Spartans had to infiltrate _Unyielding Hierophant_ her copy's had nearly failed to do their job. So often she would see the Chief alone surrounded and outnumbered. Facing down seven Elite's with shields just like his and strength to match. Things that even he must be afraid of even if he didn't admit it but he pushed through. Most of the time she couldn't help him though not directly anyway. She could make him faster, warn him, affect rooms around him if they had computer control.

Still when it came up close when it came down to grappling with that Elite for his life or shoving shells into a shotgun to take out the approaching Flood there was little she could do besides watch. Yet he pushed through. What was it, why did she think this way. Had part of her wanted to say more before he left. Try and say just how much she really wanted to see him again. She knew that AI could not feel, not to that extent. Master Chief was a priority. Next to the completion of the mission his survival was always the most important. She did value human life just she had to balance it. In war you sometimes had to make sacrifices. She could never care on a deep personal enough level. Was that really true though. For some reason she could find herself willing to sacrifice anyone except for him. She had said she could but if it really came down to it she wasn't sure that she could send the Chief off to his death. She didn't even know why. It wasn't like she had feelings for him... cared about him or worried in her own way... even liked him.

She knew it was all superficial. Something from the human aspect of her program that she just needed to shut off much like that part of her program that made her unsure of killing cruelly like when she had drained all of the oxygen out of rooms to kill Elites in that captured Covenant ship. It wasn't the same though she knew it too but she didn't want to admit it. Even if she had ever wanted to there was nothing for her to truly offer the Chief. She was an AI that was to help in understanding the Covenant and other threats to the human race so she could help stop them. It was kind of funny since he had a lowered sex drive or one that practically didn't exsist thanks to the genetic manipulation. He had never shown any interest in the opposite sex or even complained even though he had probably never been with someone in anyway at all even at his current age. Still she knew that even if she had wanted something with him it could never be. He was a human and she was an AI. She had no body, no touch, no life to her in that way.

Instead just a program in his head able to easily hear his thoughts. Doomed to one day have her program grow so much that it would destroy itself like all advanced AI before her. Honestly she couldn't say that she wanted some kind of romantic interest from him but there was something there for him. Something deep there in everything she felt. She admired him, cared for him, worried about him. Despite all of her wise cracks or her attitude she did even if she didn't ever really show it. Somewhere in her she did want him or something from him. Maybe it wasn't to be back in his head again but to just have the comfort of having him close. The feeling of safety that he truly brought her like she was protected. She knew now that she was lying if she claimed to feel nothing when he left without her. Some part of her felt missing. It wasn't the human equivalent of crying that she felt but perhaps something similar to a deep sadness. Almost as if some part deep down inside of her had gone missing.

Kind of like when you lose a lover or something very important to you. Perhaps at first you will deny yourself the reality of it or the full feeling of your loss won't hit you until later. Maybe that was what was happening to her the powerful feeling like she had indeed lost something or someone very important to her. If it was for good, if he died, she didn't want to think about it. Didn't want to ever think about being around still in her odd way of being alive without him. She missed the Chief and wanted him near again. Burying any feelings of sadness she would get back to work observing things in High Charity as best she could. This wouldn't be it. Even if logically the chance of her ever seeing the Chief again was extremely small she would still believe in that chance to help motivate her to keep going no matter what. She would survive they would survive to fight together again. She would see him that man again that made her feel so strange. A way that was different but good something she felt as more then just possible attachment...

"See you soon Chief..."

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****Final words:** Pretty straightforward I think. I tried hard to project the words and thoughts in such a way that I felt like it fit Cortana you know. Since she's not the type to come out and say hey I like you or at least I don't think so. I don't know I think or hope I did a good job of making her say what I wanted to project from this story and still make her sound a lot like she should. I must admit I'm a bit rusty on some of the stuff in the books and games. I've played both games an almost all of the modes and read all three books so far but its been a while since I did so I'm going on memory alone. 

So to any Halo fans or hardcore fans I apologize for anything story related to Halo I might have gotten wrong. I have debated with myself on writing a possible romance/erotic story between Master Chief and Cortana somehow if I can though I'm not sure yet. Could be interesting though. Either way please read and review to give me any praise, comments, suggestions, tips, constructive cristism and such. If you want to talk to me directly you can always drop me an IM my SN is in my profiel. Well that's all for now, ciao.


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